Brutality Lesson

Exploring How Language Shapes the Historical Narrative Using Enslavement Practices in Maryland as a Case Study

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Note: This lesson was developed by Justine Lee at the University of Maryland and Magdalena Gross at Stanford University as well as Alison Jovanovic at the University of Maryland.

Driving Set of Inquiry Questions:

  • Why might it be important to know that white society was complicit in terror and brutality during and after slavery?

  • How does the language in which history is written shape how we understand past events?

  • How might analysis of perspective and corroboration of sources influence our understanding of an event?

  • In knowing the reality of the past, how can we try to right injustices in the present?

Lesson Objectives:

Content:

  1. Students will assess the impact of the use of brutality on enslaved people in America.
  2. Students will discuss the importance of studying the role of white society in using terror and violence as a means of control of enslaved populations.

Disciplinary:

  1. Students will evaluate the impact of word choice in the development of the historical narrative.

  2. Students will assess the impact of perspective in the development of the historical narrative.

  3. Students will evaluate and corroborate sources to develop a more comprehensive historical narrative.

Context for Teachers:

It is important that high school students know that white people utilized terror and violence in increasing amounts to enslave people.  Not only did slave owners participate in terrorizing enslaved peoples, but also, the local white populations participated in the terrorizing of enslaved people.  Often textbooks fail to paint the whole picture, making it imperative that students have the opportunity to review primary sources and corroborate the readings to develop a more comprehensive account.

Lesson Format: Inquiry/ Opening Up of a Textbook (OUT)

Definition of Format: Developed at SHEG (Stanford History Education Group) - the OUT is an activity that is designed to help students question the “one truth” narratives of textbooks by corroborating using primary source documents. It is meant to push students to critically evaluate the textbook. The teacher chooses a short excerpt from a textbook or dominant narrative (such as a Disney movie) and juxtaposes this with sources. Students read and compare, contrast. Typically there is a summative assessment about explaining the differences or comparing the textbook to primary source accounts. This OUT will help a teacher do the following:

  1. Direct Challenge: Using primary documents to challenge textbook facts or interpretation.

  2. Narrativization: How does the textbook tell the story?

  3. Articulating Silences: Who is left out of the textbook's narrative? Try bringing in voices of the silenced or moving issues of narrative choice to the surface.

  4. Vivification: Breathing life into a text that only mentions, or omits.

  5. Close Reading: Careful, attentive focus on word choice, including adjectives, titles, and the like.

Time Frame: 90+ minutes (possible 20+ minute extension if optional sources used)

Lesson Plan:

Lesson Plan;  Links to individual Handout Packets are in the Materials section. 

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9 -10.6. Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9 -10.9. Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

C3: The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History

D2.His.6.9 -12. Analyze the ways in which the perspectives of those writing history shaped the history that they produced.

D2.His.7.9 -12. Explain how the perspectives of people in the present shape interpretations of the past.

D2.His.9.9 -12. Analyze the relationship between historical sources and the secondary interpretations made from them.

D3.3.9 -12. Identify evidence that draws information directly and substantively from multiple sources to detect inconsistencies in evidence in order to revise or strengthen claims.

D3.1.9 -12. Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.

Materials:

  • Ability project 

  • Sticky notes and/or highlighters for text close reading

  • Link for Warm-Up: https://youtu.be/SMvPXAowNgk

  • Handout 1-Brutality in Enslavement Document Packet

    • Document A: Secondary Source, Baptist, E.  The Half Has Never Been Told (2015).

    • Document B: Two Textbook accounts to show some change over time. Pg 377 in the textbook Call to Freedom 2007, and Pg. 226 in "A History of the United States". Lexington, 1986.  

    • Document C: Memoir of Charles Ball

    • Document D: Memoir of William J. Anderson

    • Document E: Image depicting plans for shackles (OPTIONAL)

    • Document F: Ladies Whipping Girls (OPTIONAL)

Lesson Procedures:

1. Pose the Inquiry Question

      (whole class)  Time: 2 mins

  • Ask the first guiding inquiry questions as a whole group before watching the video:
    • Why might it be important to know that white society was complicit in terror and brutality during and after o slavery?
    • Why might it be important to know that white society was complicit in terror and brutality during and after f slavery?
    • How does the language in which history is written shape how we understand past events?
    • How might analysis of perspective and corroboration of sources influence our understanding of an event?
    • In knowing the reality of the past, how can we try to right injustices in the present?
  • Present all the questions for the day (do not provide clarification at this point)- Explain to students that they will be watching a video and reading scholarly research, as well as primary source documents to help answer these questions.

2. Warm-Up: Engage Students in the Topic

      (independent then whole class) Time: 10-12 minutes

  • Give students Bryan Stevenson clip about America’s first lynching museum: https://youtu.be/SMvPXAowNgk.
  • Have students watch the clip independently on Chromebooks/laptops if possible and reflect on the question.
  • Ask students to consider the first inquiry question as they watch the video: Why might it be important to know that white society was complicit in terror and brutality during and after of slavery?
  • Spend 3-4 minutes discussing student reactions to the initial inquiry question posed.
  • Teacher Note: For more information on the...

3. Elicit Students’ Initial Ideas

      (whole group to  small group and then share out whole group again) Time: 10-12 mins

  • Assign students into groups of 2-3.
  • Give students Handout 1: Brutality in Enslavement Document Packet and focus on Document A: Edward Baptist Excerpt. Read as a class, modeling Close Reading strategies.
  • Pose the next guiding inquiry question: How does the language in which history is written shape how we understand past events?
  • Discuss as a class.
    • Additional questions that can be used for discussion:
      • How does language shape what we think we know?
      • How does Edward Baptist's use language to reshape what we know about slavery?
      • What new words is he using?
      • How do these new words get closer to the truth?
  • After the initial setting of the question, have students now use Handout 2: Brutality in Enslavement Document Graphic Organizer to write their responses (that you discussed previously).
  • If not redundant: Have groups share some ideas out related to what they learned from Document A in regards to the question and list the ideas on the board.

4. Introducing the Opening Up the Textbook-OUT

      (Independently or in Small Groups, then as Whole Class) Time 15 minutes

  • Ask students to turn to Document B: Textbook excerpts.
  • Have the students read Documents B, which are the two textbook excerpts-- independently or in their group, annotating as they go. They will use the graphic organizer, comparing the textbook to Edward Baptist's thesis.
  • After the students have reviewed this and written their responses to the "questions to consider" in their small groups, bring the class back together to debrief as a whole class. Classroom discussion questions might include:
    • Are the textbooks accurate?  
    • How does the language in the textbook align or not to the language we used as a class?
    • What skills should we use to interrogate the textbook?
    • What are the differences between Baptist's language and the textbook language?
    • What role does language play in historical understandings?
    • How does the use of certain kinds of language help or hinder historical understandings of this time period?
  • Teacher Note:
    • A supporting goal of the lesson is to encourage us to consider the oppressor terminology - punishment for what?  Punishment was a term used by whites as if those they enslaved were doing something wrong.  We want to shift student mindset from these widely accepted terms such as punishment and plantation to torture and slave labor camps.

5. Rethinking the Dominant Narrative by Corroborating Sources

      (both in small groups and in whole class) Time: 25 mins

  • Ask students to turn to Documents C and D.  
  • The students should carefully read the two documents, and discuss the answer to the Questions to Consider with their small group. They should record their answers on the graphic organizer.
  • Bring the class back together to debrief as a whole class. Questions to consider:
    • What new information is presented in the new documents?
    • How do the accounts/perspectives differ from the textbook?
    • How does it make you feel, as you read the accounts?
    • What revisions to the dominant narrative might you want to include?
  • Teacher Note-Connection to Present Day: The method of torture of being tied up by your thumbs described in Document C has been documented as a form of torture used in the American prison systems post-1865.  For more information, please consider reading:

6. OPTIONAL-Rethinking the Dominant Narrative by Corroborating Sources

      (both in small groups and in whole class) Time: 20 mins

  • Repeat the above sequence above but with  Documents E and F. Have students complete the graphic organizer.

7. Debrief

      (independently and whole class) 15 minutes

  • Look at the driving inquiry questions again as a class:
    • Why might it be important to know that white society was complicit in terror and brutality during and after slavery?
    • How does the language in which history is written shape how we understand past events?
    • How might analysis of perspective and corroboration of sources influence our understanding of an event?
    • In knowing the reality of the past, how can we try to right injustices in the present?
  • Give students a few minutes to consider the questions again independently after being exposed to the various documents.
  • Complete a whole class discussion on the documents and the driving questions. Be sure to check in with students emotionally as well.

8. Assessment

      (Individual) 15 minutes

  • Pass out Handout 3: Brutality in Enslavement Summative Assessment, which is a RAFT ((Santa, 1988)) formatted writing prompt.
  • Please see handout for more detailed steps on completion.
  • The next day, you may want to allow students to share their writings with their peers in partners, small groups or to the whole class.

Assessments:

Formative:

  • Teacher circulates around the room to assess student progress while working.

  • Document Analysis packet can be collected.

Summative:

  • Students will complete a RAFT (Santa, 1988) writing assessment, from the perspective of anti-slavery, to synthesize textbook excerpts and primary/secondary source accounts.